


There Is No Try

by Suaine



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Secret Santa Exchange Fic, the fall of the Empire, the star wars au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22045960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suaine/pseuds/Suaine
Summary: The whole galaxy is falling apart and Eddie is going home.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	There Is No Try

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RainbowGirl410](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowGirl410/gifts).



> I knew almost immediately what story this was going to be and it has been delightful trying to think about all the ways this could work. I made the highly questionable choice to equate childhood abuse with the Empire so: Eddie, Bev and Stan all end up in the service, everyone else is either Rebel or unaffiliated.
> 
> Selma, I hope you like your gift! I tried to incorporate your prompt and I hope you're enjoying this idea as much as I am!

The whole galaxy is falling apart and Eddie is going home. He hates that Derry is still the only planet he thinks about when it comes to home, but he hasn’t ever been happy anywhere else. Not the academy, not any of the ships he’s served on, and certainly not the core worlds. The thought of Coruscant triggers nothing in him but anxiety.

It’s rain season in Derry and Eddie reminds himself not to underestimate the vicious climate of his home world. Georgie Den Brough died in one of its storms, and so did a lot of other kids when he was barely a teen. That was just before he left to become an imperial asset. He doesn’t like to call himself a soldier, it’s not like he wore the anonymous white helmets of the troopers. He’s an analyst. He’s never used a blaster on anyone.

He likes to tell himself that. He’s never killed anyone, personally. It helps him sleep at night.

As Eddie steps out of the space port and into the sluggish, lazy life of Derry, he remembers that this has always been his least favorite part of their world: Derry doesn’t care what happens in the rest of the galaxy. Derry doesn’t care if it’s part of a republic, an empire, or a goddamn clown circus. Derry just is.

He checks the message from Mike again. It doesn’t say why he wants Eddie to come back, just that he needs to be here by nightfall, capital time. They’re supposed to meet at Jade cantina in the city center and Eddie still has some time to get accomodations for himself. If he’s lucky, imperial credits are still worth enough to get him a simple room for a few nights and after that… well, he really doesn’t fucking know. Maybe he’ll stay on Derry, become a nerf herder or something.

The thought of that much dirt and grime for the rest of his life makes Eddie shudder.

A commotion in the square ahead catches Eddie’s attention. People are running - no one who looks like any kind of authority, and Eddie tries not to think about what happened to the troopers stationed here - toward several loud noises that sound suspiciously like blaster fire. He should just walk away, go the long way around, keep his head down. It’s not a smart play for anyone connected to imperial forces to make trouble right now, the people of the galaxy are not in a forgiving mood. Not that it’s undeserved, really. The Empire was a shit show, something Eddie had learned far too late to be any good to him. Once you’re strapped into the ride, there’s no getting off.

But Eddie suffers from a terminal case of curiosity. He jogs over to see what’s going on and stops dead in his tracks when he recognizes a shock of red hair.

Bev Marsh. Bev, who had gone to the academy first, who’d tried so hard to become something better than her shitty family, who just wanted to be someone worth remembering. She stands at the center of the square, blaster hanging loosely from her right hand, some scuffs and bruises but no blood. She’s facing three rough-looking mercenaries, one of them a Trandoshan with more scars than scales, the other two vaguely human, though clearly enhanced with tech all over their bodies.

Eddie wants nothing more than to call out to her, but he’s scared of being a distraction. She’s got these assholes.

That’s when Eddie hears him and his heartbeat kicks up to light speed. Fuck. Eddie watches as a tall figure saunters into the tense standoff and talks the entire time. “What do we have here, huh? Looks like you people all need to chill a little bit and talk it out. Do you want some help with that? Maybe just put those blasters away and we can all have a nice sit down and chat about what you all need.”

It shouldn’t work, it’s ridiculous and stupid, but somehow the words penetrate the three mercenaries’ thick skulls and they slowly relax their stances.

Richie - because it is Richie, who else would be this stupid - turns to Bev and grins, and Eddie remembers that grin, remembers being at the receiving end of it, how powerful it was. Still is. Fuck. “You need to put that away, babe, or this isn’t going to work.”

Bev looks like she wants to murder Richie and even though Eddie has had that feeling over and over for all of their time together, it makes something inside Eddie twist painfully. He hasn’t seen either of them for years, didn’t even know if they were all still alive, but he needs them to be okay. He needs one thing to be okay.

Some better angel must be telling her that this is a losing battle, because she sighs heavily and slowly lowers her blaster. She’s still wearing the imperial uniform and maybe it’s lucky that Derry doesn’t give a fuck, because in many other places, the crowd would have started throwing insults and then maybe stones. The empire hasn’t made any friends, only subjects, and without the great power at the center of it, all that empire soldiers are, now and forever, is bullies.

Eddie walks into the circle. He wants to say something grand, something smart and funny, but what comes out is a gurgle because his two childhood friends have both extended their hands toward him and some kind of force is choking the air from his lungs. He’s… fuck, fuck, he can’t breathe and his feet are no longer touching the ground.

It lasts for less than a second and then he tumbles to the ground like all his strings have been cut. Eddie coughs violently, his body convulsing with the taste of fresh air scraping the inside of his throat raw.

There’s a soft hand on his back. “Oh no, Eddie, are you okay? I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry.” That’s Bev and she sounds suitably panicked for someone who nearly killed him. With the capital F. That’s some fucked up shit. That’s straight out of a fairy tale. But Eddie’s gaze goes straight past her, honing in on Richie like he’s trying to shoot laser blasts from his eyes.

Richie is pouting, arms crossed, eyes averted. He doesn’t look even the least bit contrite and Eddie feels the familiar anger burning under his skin. “Trashmouth,” he says, “didn’t think I’d see you here.”

They hadn’t parted on the best of terms. As much as Eddie had always valued Richie’s opinions, when it came to joining the Academy, Richie had been so obstinately against it he’d nearly punched Eddie in the face. Richie will probably insist that he knew, even back then, that the Empire was rotten to the core, evil in ways that could not be denied, but Eddie knows that’s bullshit. How could he possibly have known?

“Hey,” Bev says as she strokes his back. “Let’s get you inside somewhere.”

+

They head to the Jade cantina and Bev buys him a large, fruity drink that makes Eddie smile. Richie keeps staring at him with ill-concealed disdain. If this is going to keep up, they will come to blows and Eddie is almost a head shorter and quite a few pounds lighter. Also, not a fucking force user. It’s not going to end well for Eddie.

Mike arrives right on time with Ben and Bill in tow. Ben looks amazing, Eddie is a bit startled by the change. In fact, all his old friends have gotten hot, except for Richie, who looks unkempt in ways that imply he’s been living rough for a while. Eddie thinks “rebellion” and sighs.

Stan was on Hoth, refusing to turn his gun on fleeing enemies. Eddie’s seen the paperwork, quite by accident. If Stan was still in an imperial prison during the collapse, who knows whether he got out at all?

Eddie fervently hopes Stan got out. There was always something special about Stan, maybe the same something that’s special about Richie and Bev, but more than that, he was maybe Eddie’s best friend after Richie turned on him.

“To old friends,” Mike says, raising his glass in a toast. Eddie’s missed some sort of speech, but he doesn’t actually care that much. He looks around the room and can’t help but smile. Somehow, through all of the upheaval of the last few years, they’re here, together again. It’s half a miracle.

Richie is still glaring daggers at him. It’s getting beyond uncomfortable.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Eddie is so angry, he’s ready to throw down, right here in the cantina, rules of conduct be damned. What does he care if they’re all going to be banned for life?

Richie snorts. “I’ll tell you what the fuck my problem is.” He’s getting up and advancing on Eddie, and oh, he really is a tall motherfucker. Eddie squares his shoulders. He can fight, and fight dirty if he has to. “You come back here after everything the Empire has done and you just expect us all to welcome you back with open arms. Not gonna happen, Empire scum.”

Eddie’s eye starts twitching. “Yeah, well, you seem to be just fine with Bev, don’t you?”

“Bev’s different, Bev didn’t have a choice.” Richie is so far in Eddie’s space now, they’re breathing each other’s air.

“Oh,” Eddie says, using his index finger to poke Richie’s chest, “and I did? What choice did I have exactly? What future did I have on fucking Derry?”

Richie swallows, gaze dropping down a bit. “You could have come with me.”

Right. Eddie shudders and suddenly all the fight leaves him. Richie had offered, once, for them to hitch a ride on a freighter out of Derry and just try their luck out in the galaxy. It sounded ridiculous and Eddie’s mother would have thrown a massive fit. And the truth was that Eddie had been afraid. The Academy was a safe bet, exactly what Eddie had planned for his future. Too bad it was attached to a power hungry villain and a genocidal state.

Bill interrupts them with an arm thrown around each of them, either unaware of or uncaring for the tension between them. “Come on, let’s get shitfaced.”

+

They drink hard and laugh harder. Stories of old times are mixed in with exploits of the rebellion, stories of incompetent Empire commanders, a very carefully crafted vision where the good guys always win. Eddie isn’t a part of that vision, even if he maintains that he’s never actually done any harm. Personally.

Statistical analysis is not a blood sport, but it can kill easily enough. Work out where a rebel base is located based on fighter movements. Find a weakness to exploit. Others would have done his dirty work, but the work would have been done regardless.

Bev takes his hand during some of the stories and strokes her thumb over his palm. Eddie smiles at her, shaking his head when she wants to ask how he is. This is the least they can endure, considering.

It’s only when the stories die down and the mood becomes maudlin that Mike perks up and tries to get everyone’s attention. “It’s back,” he says into the silence, and the hair on Eddie’s neck stands up.

“What?” Bill yelps.

Mike has their full attention now, for sure. “The monster at the heart of the storm, the one that took Georgie. It’s back.”

They’d fought it once, when they were way too young to do any kind of hunting. Even seasoned bounty hunters would balk at a job like that, but for them it had been personal. The rain always takes a few victims, but the monster had made it so much worse. If Eddie remembers right, it’s a creature that’s been living on Derry far longer than any of the humanoid species that settled here.

“I thought we killed it,” Richie says, and there’s real fear in his voice.

Mike shrugs. “Maybe it’s a different one. I have no idea, but it’s started taking children again. Back then, even the troopers couldn’t figure out a way to stop it and there are no longer any troopers now. We’re the only ones who’ve ever done it any real harm.”

Eddie snorts. “Right, and that’s why you called us back, to fight a big, toothy monster in the jungle?”

Richie hums. It’s clear he’s terrified, but hey, he can’t be as scared as Eddie is. “I don’t know about you, but that’s a little big for us. None of us except Bev have any real military training.”

Mike glares at him and Richie has the decency to look ashamed. “Really, of all people, I would have thought you would understand.”

Bev has been silent until now, but when she raises her chin, Eddie knows the discussion is over. “I’ll go,” she says, “it’s the least I can do.” That simple, and they are decided. There isn’t a single one of them who’d let Bev do this alone.

+

Mike’s brought several speeders and an armory. Eddie looks at the blaster rifles with disdain and picks up one of the vibrolances. He’s had basic weapons training but nothing recent. If it’s anything like last time, they might make him the bait. He’s good at screaming and running away, but the chill running down his spine isn’t helping.

Richie keeps staring at him.

“I can see you looking,” Eddie says. “You’re not very subtle.”

Richie snorts. “Subtle enough for you.” There’s something underneath his words and Eddie isn’t sure he wants to know.

He points the lance at Richie’s chest. “This kills monsters.”

“Only if you believe it does,” Richie says. He doesn’t pick out a weapon.

They head out into the storm within an hour of Bev’s announcement. There isn’t really a lot they can do to prepare. The creature in the jungle is massive and terrifying, something straight out of children’s nightmares. There are scales and burnt orange fur and way too many legs. The old memories still haunt them.

Richie is riding with Eddie, his arms wrapped tight around Eddie’s waist. Neither of them is up to their usual chattiness, and the silence leaves too much space for doubt.

“We could just leave,” Eddie says, eyes only on Mike’s speeder ahead of them. Bill is clinging on for dear life.

Richie exhales, the hot air way too close to Eddie’s ear. “Oh, now you want to leave? Are you that scared, Eds?” He can feel Richie tremble with nerves. They’re both terrified.

“Don’t call me Eds,” Eddie mumbles under his breath.

+

The fight is brutal. Bev leads the charge, but it’s Eddie who gets in the first proper hit. His vibrolance is sticking in the monster’s throat and he’s so ecstatic he feels thirteen again, ready to take on the world. He doesn’t see the claw aimed straight at his back, of course he doesn’t.

It would have been a terrible way to go.

But from one moment to the next, everything is quiet, the thrashing of the monster has stopped completely, everything is suspended.

Richie has his hand up and blood running from his nose. Tears are running down his cheeks. He’s looking at the creature.

“Eddie, you absolute idiot, get out of the fucking way,” Richie presses out between labored breaths.

Eddie takes the hint. He scampers and regroups with Bill and Mike and Ben, who are providing a second line of defense with blasters raised. They’re, all three of them, useless and they know it. Eddie grabs for a blaster just as the creature roars back to life, all attention now on the man standing in front of it.

“It’s going to kill Richie,” Eddie says, his heart beating out of his throat. He can’t watch that, can’t let it happen.

Eddie is not a brave man. He spent his life hiding behind rules and authority and the very flimsy excuse that he’s only dealt with numbers. But numbers have faces. And Richie has drawn a ridiculous weapon from somewhere, a bold yellow glow surrounding the blade. That’s not a vibrosword.

“That’s a fucking lightsaber,” Ben says. He’s not looking at Richie.

The twin glows of two sabers make fairly short work of the creature. Purple and yellow, not exactly the colors of lore, but impressive enough. Richie and Bev breathe heavy in the silence after them monster falls, like they’ve both been running for longer than either of them can remember and this is the finish line.

They face each other, sabers raised, and then the soft hum vanishes, leaves them all in the dark.

It’s over.

+

Eddie can’t stop staring at Richie. The others are all piled together in a group hug, but Eddie can’t quite bring himself to join. Richie had to hate him. Eddie remembers plain as day an order coming across his desk for large scale purges related to old Jedi remnants. Eddie’s run the numbers, as he did with all things that were asked of him.

Eddie could have gotten him killed.

Fuck.

Richie looks up from where his face is pressed into Mike’s neck and looks straight into Eddie’s soul. “Come on, Eds.” He extends his hand like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

It’s not.

It’s the hardest thing to take a step forward, another, and another. It’s the hardest thing in the universe to fold himself into Richie’s embrace. He smells like smoke and blood, it’s absolutely disgusting, but he’s alive and Eddie’s alive, and their friends are alive.

“Don’t call me Eds.”

Richie laughs. “Sure, okay, I’ll just call you sweetheart. Buttercup. Babe. Lover.”

Eddie can’t help himself, he laughs. It’s the first time he’s laughed freely since he left his home for the Academy. The empire is falling, but maybe Eddie can survive the chaos. Maybe there’s a place for him, maybe there’s someone waiting with their hand outstretched.

“Fucking Trashmouth,” Eddie says, as he buries his face in Richie’s chest and holds on.

Richie vibrates with mirth. “Maybe a date first, darling?”

Eddie doesn’t answer, but he’s tightening his grip. He’s never going to let go again.

**Author's Note:**

> Stan, of course, is already on a rebel base being cared for by his secret rebel wife, Patty. He's fine, you guys.
> 
> This is a secret santa exchange fic for the event at the [Reddie's Hammock Discord Server](https://discord.gg/AhPPrfh).


End file.
